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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Biscuity Scones, Vegantine's Goodies and Superpowers!

Healthy Juicer update: If you have already entered the Juicer Giveaway, you can get an extra entry just by mentioning (and linking back to) the contest on your own blog. Just leave another comment on the giveaway post to give me a heads up.

Thank you so much for playing, it has been most fun! Check out a few of all the awesome entries:

Jane:I would have the power to form an invisible protective bubble around myself so i wouldn't feel the outside temperature, but rather, a nice warm 70 degrees. (Me too!)

Amanda:the ability to tap anyone with my magic wand and they would instantly want to go vegan! (Nice one!)

Kelly. G: I'd wish for the superpower to speak canine (in case of regional/breed differences, the American rat terrier dialect), mostly so I can ask my middle dog to stop eating his brother's and sister's poo. (LOL!)

MaryBe: ...I always thought it would be cool to have a tail! I am klutzy and always thought it would help my balance. (I could use this power too!)

Alicia:My super power would be the ability to make reading (books, blogs, whatever) give me the same results as sleeping. That way I wouldn't feel so tired the next day when I stay up until 1am reading blogs. (Wouldn't that be nice?)

Becks:I would like the ability to turn any cat I stroke back into a kitten (as they are all eternal kittens at heart) then they could live long, happy, lives - forever with their pet humans. (So sweet!)

So many entries, so many creative superpowers! Keep'em coming!

I've been experimenting with the baking powder Biscuity Scones recipe I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. The cooking time and method has been tricky but I finally found what works best for this recipe. You can add more sugar and some cinnamon, or some sunflower seeds, or whatever you think would work. After trying different variations, I actually prefer the basic version. But my taste buds are plain and unrefined like that.

1- Preheat a cast iron skillet on low heat and spray with cooking spray.
2- Whisk together the dry ingredients.
3- Whisk together the oil and the soy milk.
4- Stir the liquids into the flour mix just until a dough forms. Add more milk by the tablespoon is necessary (though it shouldn't be too moist). Knead just three or four times.
5- Turn out the dough on a floured surface (I just use a flat, rimless plate) and flatten it forming a 1/2 inch thick circle. It shouldn't be too thick or the scones will be raw and doughy in the middle.
6- Use a sharp knife to cut the circle into 6 triangles. It helps to dip the knife in flour so the dough doesn't stick to it so much.
7- Place the scones in the sauté pan and cook covered for 10 minutes. You might have to remove the lid and wipe the steam down half way through.
8- Flip the scones over using a fork, small spatula or whatever works for you, and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
9- Transfer the scones to a cooling rack to keep them from getting soggy.

I like mine sliced in half and with some Earth Balance, along with some hot tea and a good book. Second-day Biscuity Scones are best reheated in the toaster because it gives them their outer crispiness back. They of course taste better when cooked in a cast iron skillet, but we don't bring one on the road so a non-stick frying pan is the next best thing for us.

These burgers were tasty and full of good-for-you ingredients like quinoa, sweet potato, and black beans. We were out of bread crumbs so I used these corn flake crumbs, which means these burgers can be gluten-free. I coated them with the corn flake crumbs to make them crispy because we weren't going to have them in burger buns.

Valentine's Day is almost here and I wanted to make some heart shaped chocolates. It didn't go very well. They taste great, but the dipping in chocolate process wasn't as smooth as I imagined because the chocolate/coconut/cashew centers kept melting on me!

Next week I'll probably write up a whole post dedicated to Vegantine's Day foods and recipes. Hopefully that will go better.

I'm loving your animal pictures and captions, I always want to see more! The Canadian goose and the squizzle are my faves! How do you get the animals to be so expressive? 'Wazzup' goose, waving sea-gulls? How do you do it?

Well I was going to make the muffinish thingies but now I want to make the bicuity thingies! Your burgers sound good too. Breading is an excellent idea, esp. for the kind that tend to fall apart. And the chocolate hearts are beautiful.

wowowow....this whole entry looks fabulous....can i come for eats?....i want to make heart shaped cookies this year too...i was going to just do sugar cookies...but this is some inspiration to do chocolatey goodness....love the nanimals pics...:)

the goose is the cutest! i'm going to show him to dan - he's adorable!

oh yeah - dan & i tried your whole wheat english muffinish yummies! ohhhhhhh my goooodness River - they're AMAZING! i think i'm addicted! i ate two today and i'm probably going to have a third when i get home after my run! thank you for another glorious recipe! you rock so hard!

hahahhha Mr Steamy...Vegantine..Jo as the squirrel....Rivvvy you rock in my world! I love coming here and you're just amazing. I have such a crush on you! xoxoxo

I knew I was in trouble the moment I saw the pics on flickr. hehe. All wonderful eats and gluten-free...wah hey! I def would try your burger. DEFINITELY! The veg you served with looks sooooo good, I'm drooling here. *slurps

Thanks for updating me in your blogroll! Appreciate it. And of course all your wonderful comments on my blog.

that is too funny. my bday and my dating anniversary w/ Andy are this month. I consider that more significant than our wedding because it was the start of our relationship. We don't celebrate them all because they are 3 days in a row. It's too tiring to make fancy dinners and dessert for 3 days.

Seriously, what are the chances you would have just finished reading "Persuasion"?! That's pure craziness! It's definitely my favorite Jane Austen book (even though it's so hard to choose...). (-: Your sweet treats here look delicious and full of yummy calories. That's why I think my magic super power would be to have the ability to eat anything I want (within the veggie kingdom of course) and not gain weight. How awesome would it be to gorge on your Valentine's goodies without fear of that bulging waistline? Awesome!

Hi River! I reposted my post about the juicer giveaway, I decided to do a raffle instead of a bake-off. I just wanted you to know I didn't delete your comment, I deleted the blog post. Anyway, I hope everything is going well for you. Happy travelling!

wow! those scones look terrific!thanks for sharing some of those superpower replies...I really commiserated with the one about reading having the same effect as sleeping, as I'm currently losing sleep from staying up all night reading too!

Everything (as always) looks fabulous! I love scones/biscuits so must try those out. And those chocolates--are you kidding me??? They look PERFECT. How on earth did you manage to dip hearts and keep them heart-shaped??? I am totally envious of your dipping skills!

Those burgers look yummy! Something else to add to my list.....I'm loving the animal photos - they are so cute, especially the goose.Hee hee hee

And the Valentine Chocs look awesome too.The fact that they're not all perfect looking on the outside but are decadently delicious on the inside is keeping the whole spirit of Valentine true to form.:)

a long time ago, I was vegan for 2 years and I know sometimes I would kill for a rich creamy chocolate cake :-) that is probably why my will broke along the way :-( now after two years of crap diet, I am re-living my vegan journey again with my 21-day vegan challenge, as from what I was told, it takes three weeks to change one´s habits....

And if you think chocolate-strawberry yogurt sounds good, wait until my chocolate mousse post! I kinda wish I hadn't made up this recipe, because I've been eating it every day for like a week. If, in the future, you stop hearing from me, it's because I've turned into chocolate mousse and therefore no longer have fngers with which to type.